Just back from the dentist. Had a crown fall off that could not be repaired, so had to have the rest of the tooth yanked.
I asked about options and Mr. Dentist mentioned something called a flipper. It’s a single tooth that is attached to a thin plastic piece that adheres to the gum. It is removable but he claims it holds pretty well. I’d never heard of this before, have you?
He said an implant is 2-3 grand, so that’s not going to happen.
I’m leaning toward a bridge. It would be around $1200 after insurance pays half.
Anyone who knows anything about any of this, please chime in. I’d love to hear about any personal experiences with any of the above.
I’ve never heard of a flipper. I do have an implant and love it. Yes, it was expensive, but very much worth it. I have good bone density and grow bone easily, so I healed quickly after they placed the implant in my jaw. I grew so much bone so quickly, they actually had to scrape some new growth off when they put the new fake tooth on it. I would again choose an implant over a bridge.
Yes, my husband tried a flipper for some missing front teeth, it was like a partial denture that wasn’t attached to any other teeth, just sort of sticks to the palate. He hated it, said he couldn’t talk with it in. He gave it about 5 seconds of “trying to get used to it” before he nixed it.
Considering the cost difference, an implant is really a much better value than a bridge (possibly depending on your age, if you’re 70 then maybe not). It will last for the rest of your life, no matter what happens to your other teeth. This advice is not, however, based on personal experience, as I have not tried either one.
I’ve had a flipper since I was in late grade school (I’m 62). Right outer incisor, the result of a bicycle accident. I’ve never had a problem with it, although I did manage to break it a couple of times many years ago.
I have no idea what it cost then, or what it would cost now. Every time I go to a dentist, which is rare, they offer to bridge a replacement in, but I’ve refused…I’m just used to the flipper.
Also, I didn’t mention in the OP but there is other work I want to get done, not just the one tooth. If it were just the one, I would go implant. As it is, though, I could see the bill running $10000 plus if I went all implant.
mmm
Dentist here. A flipper is like an orthodontic retainer but with a tooth to replace the missing tooth and usually no wire across the front. They work well for talking and smiling, fairly well for basic eating and less so for sticky foods. They are far and away the cheapest way to replace a missing tooth. Around here a three unit bridge(replacing one tooth) and an implant/crown each run about $3000. This is without insurance, many insurances pay 50% of bridges up to their maximum, less insurances cover implants but may still cover part of the crown that goes on it. A bridge takes one to two weeks and an implant/crown 4-6 months.
Implants and bridges should each last many years depending on many factors.
Something else to consider is the status of the teeth on either side of the missing tooth. If they are unrestored then I lean towards an implant. If the adjacent teeth have huge old fillings in them so that they may need crowns in the future, a bridge would take care of that at the same time the missing tooth is replaced.
I have both a implant and a bridge and like the implant much better. Bridge requires special care and tools for normal daily cleaning that can get under it which is a bit of a PITA, the implant is just treated like a normal tooth. Also I don’t like how it files down and stresses the other teeth, and could cause them to fail.
I had a temporary flipper when I lost a front tooth and was going through the implant process. It was fine for just having in my mouth and walking around without a hole but I had to take it out to eat since it didn’t hold well while chewing and the shape of it meant that my other teeth were also coated in plastic. It also got gross in a hurry if I ate with it on. It was fine as a temporary thing but I was happy to retire it when my implant was completed.
I have had implants fail and I’ve yet to find a dentist that TRULY guarantees his/her work. So you have to weigh the cost of a few thousand dollars for what could be a failure, no refund type of deal.